News - Middle East: The United Nations and the European Union (EU) have condemned in the strongest terms the announcement by the far-right Israeli administration to purportedly legalize five settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and the issuance of tenders for thousands of illegal housing units in the area.

In a post published on his official X account on Saturday, UN Special Coordinator for the so-called Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, denounced the measure as “deeply concerning.”

“Such actions, alongside other steps that undermine the Palestinian Authority and entrench settlement advancement in the West Bank, exacerbate tensions and diminish the viability of achieving a negotiated peace on the basis of a [so-called] two-state solution. Settlements are a flagrant violation of international law and UN resolutions,” he pointed out.

Separately, the European Union strongly condemned the decision by the extremist Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding the legalization of five settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, EU spokesperson Peter Stano termed the measure as another deliberate attempt at undermining peace efforts.

At this week’s European Council, Stano said EU leaders condemned the Israeli cabinet’s decisions to further expand illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank and urged Israel to reverse these decisions immediately.

In line with its longstanding common position and UN Security Council resolutions, the EU will not recognize changes to the 1967 borders unless agreed by the parties involved, he added.

“The European Union reiterated that actions weakening the Palestinian Authority must stop and calls on Israel to release withheld clearance revenues and to take the necessary measures to ensure that correspondent banking services between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain in place,” Stano said.

He said the EU reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to lasting and sustainable peace in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council resolutions, and stressed the so-called two-state solution as the basis for resolving the conflict.

Moreover, Germany vehemently denounced Israel's recent decision to legalize five settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, emphasizing that the move violates international law.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer criticized Israel's policy of settlements expansion in Palestinian territories as a serious breach of international law.

He emphasized that such actions endanger peace and security for all peoples in the region.

“We urge the Israeli administration to immediately reverse its decisions,” Fischer stated.

Egypt and Jordan also condemned the so-called legitimization of Israeli settlement outposts and the approval of new housing units in the West Bank. 

On Thursday evening, Smotrich announced that the Security Cabinet authorized one outpost for every country that unilaterally recognized Palestine as a state in the last month.

Last month, Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognized the Palestinian state, joining over 140 UN member states that have recognized its statehood over the past four decades.

Slovenia and Malta have also indicated they plan to formally recognize the state of Palestine.

The five settlement outposts are Evyatar, Givat Assaf, Sde Efraim, Heletz, and Adorayim.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

The international community views the settlements – hundreds of which have been built across the West Bank since Tel Aviv’s occupation of the territory in 1967 – as illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions due to their construction on the occupied territories.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state with East al-Quds as its capital.

Source: Press TV